Spinoff Game:Let's say the NFL is rigged and you

[Nzoner]

are in the secret s :Dciety of the top brass.As this years playoffs are nearing give us a scenario that could possibly play out in crowing this years champion.

If you need help with this think along the lines of a Ray Lewis or Jerome Bettis retiring,a feel good story like New Orleans winning it all a few years after a major disaster,the Patriots after the worst terrorism attack ever,a Jon Gruden sticking it to a former employer whom the NFL hated with a passion etc.

Above all have some fun with it but make it realistic and we can check back in February to see if anyone was close.

[mdchiefsfan]

Andy Reid shows that he is a SB caliber coach that can win the big one, after being thrown out by Philly:D

Alex Smith gets his revenge on John Harbaugh for going with Kaep.

First ever team with the #1 pick to win the SB.

[Discuss Thrower]

Baltimore upsets Cincinnati and Indianapolis beats KC to ensure Peyton gets to host Luck in the AFC Champion game.

Meanwhile, Seattle gets upset in the divisional round to give the Saints the option to host the NFC Championship.

Superbowl is a Peyton vs Brees rematch.

[mdchiefsfan]

Baltimore upsets Cincinnati and Indianapolis beats KC to ensure Peyton gets to host Luck in the AFC Champion game.

Meanwhile, Seattle gets upset in the divisional round to give the Saints the option to host the NFC Championship.

Superbowl is a Peyton vs Brees rematch.

:cuss: yours sounds more plausible.

[durtyrute]

It's 2014, after a year of basically dismantling every team, with a little help from my goon squad, the Paytons have made it to the AFC Championship Game to face the New England Patriots. The Patriots were lost until we realized what an amazing headline we would have if the two top QB's in the game meet for one last time. It will be billed as that. (We won't be helping the Paytons as much next year) The Pats themselves needed a little help so my goons did it up. I even have one of my coaching/president goons have Denver lay down so the Patriots can come back and beat them. Now, we have our rematch. The Patriots beat the Chiefs in the playoffs, who would have beat the Pats, but again, we need our headline, so goons...attack!!

The Paytons get their "revenge" and go on to the Superbowl to meet the Seahawks. We don't really care about any storyline here because the AFC Championship game was the highest rated ever and we had our match. Now we just make sure the points go the right way and profit.

[BlackHelicopters]

1.1 is named offensive rookie of the year.
D Bowe was just holding it for a friend.
A Smith leads a parade down Broadway while Goddell comments on Clark's hair.

[mdchiefsfan]

1.1 is named offensive rookie of the year.
D Bowe was just holding it for a friend.
A Smith leads a parade down Broadway while Goddell comments on Clark's hair.

:LOL:

[Rain Man]

If Manning is going to retire this year, this one is a guarantee:

Manning goes out a "champion" to tie his younger brother. Archie climbs onto the stage and gets to hold the trophy while Slowshon Moreno cries a lake that floods Central Park. Von Miller's image in the background robbing and shooting fans is edited out on a three-second delay. He beats the Seahawks because they're the best team in the NFC and it doesn't matter who he beats.

If Manning is not retiring, the league has an opportunity to start a new marketing legend, and Luck is the obvious one:

Andrew Luck leads his team on an improbable run through the playoffs, knocking off the legends of Brady and Manning along the way with amazing last-minute victories.

He beats Colin Kaepernick or Cam Newton so the Super Bowl can be a battle of young guns. However, the NFC championship is played after the AFC championship, because if Luck would happen to stumble and lose, they don't want Kaepernick or a small market to win. In that scenario, the late game, is it ... yes! Tony Romo rides the Cowboys to victory and finally sheds his playoff loser image. Romo leads the Cowboys to a win over Brady to put the New England dynasty to rest and signal a change in era.


In summary, on the AFC side...

Manning will win if he retires. Otherwise, he'll win in his final year.
Brady won't win because his legend is already established and his marketing value is high enough that he doesn't need another one.
Luck will win if Manning is going to play next year.
The other teams will all be fodder since they don't have marketing horsepower.

On the NFC side...

The Seahawks will make it to the Super Bowl if Manning makes it, because then he can beat the best NFC team.
Kaepernick or Newton will make it to the Super Bowl and lose if Luck makes it.
If both Manning and Luck fall on their faces, Romo will make it to the Super Bowl and win.
It's not Rodgers' year due to the injury.
Drew Brees will be kept in reserve in case Romo gets hurt.
The Eagles won't make it because they're too unpredictable, and the Lions won't make it because they might hurt Manning or Luck.

[Nzoner]

Baltimore upsets Cincinnati and Indianapolis beats KC to ensure Peyton gets to host Luck in the AFC Champion game.

Meanwhile, Seattle gets upset in the divisional round to give the Saints the option to host the NFC Championship.

Superbowl is a Peyton vs Brees rematch.

As much as I hate it,it makes good sense.

[Nzoner]

If Manning is going to retire this year, this one is a guarantee:

Manning goes out a "champion" to tie his younger brother. Archie climbs onto the stage and gets to hold the trophy while Slowshon Moreno cries a lake that floods Central Park. Von Miller's image in the background robbing and shooting fans is edited out on a three-second delay. He beats the Seahawks because they're the best team in the NFC and it doesn't matter who he beats.

If Manning is not retiring, the league has an opportunity to start a new marketing legend, and Luck is the obvious one:

Andrew Luck leads his team on an improbable run through the playoffs, knocking off the legends of Brady and Manning along the way with amazing last-minute victories.

He beats Colin Kaepernick or Cam Newton so the Super Bowl can be a battle of young guns. However, the NFC championship is played after the AFC championship, because if Luck would happen to stumble and lose, they don't want Kaepernick or a small market to win. In that scenario, the late game, is it ... yes! Tony Romo rides the Cowboys to victory and finally sheds his playoff loser image. Romo leads the Cowboys to a win over Brady to put the New England dynasty to rest and signal a change in era.


In summary, on the AFC side...

Manning will win if he retires. Otherwise, he'll win in his final year.
Brady won't win because his legend is already established and his marketing value is high enough that he doesn't need another one.
Luck will win if Manning is going to play next year.
The other teams will all be fodder since they don't have marketing horsepower.

On the NFC side...

The Seahawks will make it to the Super Bowl if Manning makes it, because then he can beat the best NFC team.
Kaepernick or Newton will make it to the Super Bowl and lose if Luck makes it.
If both Manning and Luck fall on their faces, Romo will make it to the Super Bowl and win.
It's not Rodgers' year due to the injury.
Drew Brees will be kept in reserve in case Romo gets hurt.
The Eagles won't make it because they're too unpredictable, and the Lions won't make it because they might hurt Manning or Luck.

Don't see the Cowboy thing as I think the NFL despises Jerry Jones.

[Discuss Thrower]

Don't see the Cowboy thing as I think the NFL despises Jerry Jones.

Follow the money.

"America's Team." Advertising revenue.

[The Franchise]

Luck vs. Wilson. The #1 overall "sure thing" vs. the QB who everyone said was too small.

[Rain Man]

Don't see the Cowboy thing as I think the NFL despises Jerry Jones.

Admittedly, the fact that he doesn't bring attractive celebrities to the stadium any more hurts his argument. But he's photogenic and a Cowboy victory will have a positive marketing impact in Mexico and among 45-64 year-old women.

[Nzoner]

Follow the money.

"America's Team." Advertising revenue.

Admittedly, the fact that he doesn't bring attractive celebrities to the stadium any more hurts his argument. But he's photogenic and a Cowboy victory will have a positive marketing impact in Mexico and among 45-64 year-old women.

Yeah but if not mistaken Jones is the only owner in the NFL who controls his own marketing.I have a coat with all NFL logos on it and the only team not on it is the Cowboys.

[Rain Man]

Yeah but if not mistaken Jones is the only owner in the NFL who controls his own marketing.I have a coat with all NFL logos on it and the only team not on it is the Cowboys.

Well, that's weird. How did that happen?

[gosampel]

I would always watch it .... I love man beating another grown man because he sucks or he is a pussy at his position, lol if women are ever add to the team I would stop watching

[gosampel]

Baltimore upsets Cincinnati and Indianapolis beats KC to ensure Peyton gets to host Luck in the AFC Champion game.

Meanwhile, Seattle gets upset in the divisional round to give the Saints the option to host the NFC Championship.

Superbowl is a Peyton vs Brees rematch.

You forgot the last part how Manning Choked! so bad in playoffs

[Rain Man]

I would always watch it .... I love man beating another grown man because he sucks or he is a pussy at his position, lol if women are ever add to the team I would stop watching

What if the women are wearing lingerie?

[Nzoner]

Well, that's weird. How did that happen?

This can probably explain it better than I can (http://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciajessop/2013/11/29/jerry-jones-1995-risk-allows-the-dallas-cowboys-to-become-leaders-in-the-growing-womens-sports-apparel-market/)

[Nzoner]

Andy Reid shows that he is a SB caliber coach that can win the big one, after being thrown out by Philly:D


The more I think on this,I like it especially if it's vs. Philly

[big nasty kcnut]

Reid get to the Super Bowl on the fact to show people he over philly. Detroit get in on the power of megatron. The chiefs win the Super Bowl because their winning it for the hunt family.

[Jerm]

With Manning and Brady heading toward the twilight over their respective careers, Rodgers hurt, and RGIII not panning out amongst other things...I'm strapping the rocket to Cam Newton's ass and giving him the main event push to get him over that hump and make him a superstar...

Carolina goes on an improbable run through the NFC culminating in beating Seattle in the NFC Championship in Seattle...in the AFC the Broncos are an unstoppable juggernaut and destroy all in the playoffs, including beating Brady and the Pats in the AFC Championship.

Carolina v. Denver in the Super Bowl...Manning leads a late TD drive to give Denver a lead after a hard fought game only for Cam to go on a magical TD drive under 2:00 to give the Panthers the win and the passing of the torch is complete.

Manning retires after doing the job and Cam is the new superstar of the NFL....

[DJJasonp]

Pittsburgh wins out....lands the 6th seed in the AFC. After some timely Pitt magic....the steelers upset Cincinnati, Denver, and New England to reach the Super Bowl.

Seattle breezes through the playoffs to the Super Bowl.

Up 28 at half, Seattle starts celebrating their first Lombardi......but wait.....then the real fun begins......

Sound familiar?

[Easy 6]

Andy Reid shows that he is a SB caliber coach that can win the big one, after being thrown out by Philly:D

Alex Smith gets his revenge on John Harbaugh for going with Kaep.

First ever team with the #1 pick to win the SB.

THIS.

[mylittlepony]

One year removed from the shooting tragedy at arrowhead. The team that was the worst in the league along with some runts in Andy Reid and Alex Smith that was ousted from their respective teams. The chiefs isn't the prettiest team but its got heart and thats what America wants to see (with the global economy and all). Despite hard times, this team gets up to play hard every game. They back into the playoffs. With no expectations and a losing trend. They squeek by the wildcard only to play the patriots and NFL royalty in Brady and Belichick. After an impressive victory against the Patriots they go up against the Miami heat of the NFL in the Denver Broncos. Its basically Rocky vs Drago the high powered offense vs the never die in the chiefs. Payton chokes, the Broncos offense splutters - the Chiefs move on.

In the NFC the loudmouthed Seahawks clean house and superbowl week is Seahawks week with Sherman and the legion of boom making soundbite after sound bite. Its the brash young team (favorites before the season) vs the hard working underdogs. Its a tough defensive game, with Seattle staying ahead and their D yapping. Late in the game Alex Smith breaks of a big run for a TD and in the dying minutes D-bowe gets one over on Sherman for a TD and shuts him up. Forced to chuck it deep Berry gets his hands on the ball and with a motorcade of players ahead of him full steam for the end zone to put the game out of reach.

[FlaChief58]

One year removed from the shooting tragedy at arrowhead. The team that was the worst in the league along with some runts in Andy Reid and Alex Smith that was ousted from their respective teams. The chiefs isn't the prettiest team but its got heart and thats what America wants to see (with the global economy and all). Despite hard times, this team gets up to play hard every game. They back into the playoffs. With no expectations and a losing trend. They squeek by the wildcard only to play the patriots and NFL royalty in Brady and Belichick. After an impressive victory against the Patriots they go up against the Miami heat of the NFL in the Denver Broncos. Its basically Rocky vs Drago the high powered offense vs the never die in the chiefs. Payton chokes, the Broncos offense splutters - the Chiefs move on.

In the NFC the loudmouthed Seahawks clean house and superbowl week is Seahawks week with Sherman and the legion of boom making soundbite after sound bite. Its the brash young team (favorites before the season) vs the hard working underdogs. Its a tough defensive game, with Seattle staying ahead and their D yapping. Late in the game Alex Smith breaks of a big run for a TD and in the dying minutes D-bowe gets one over on Sherman for a TD and shuts him up. Forced to chuck it deep Berry gets his hands on the ball and with a motorcade of players ahead of him full steam for the end zone to put the game out of reach.

I like it :thumb:

[htismaqe]

Reid get to the Super Bowl on the fact to show people he over philly. Detroit get in on the power of megatron. The chiefs win the Super Bowl because their winning it for the hunt family.

You.

Are.

Awesome.

[Nzoner]

One week closer

[GoChargers]

The Chargers sneak into the playoffs and catch fire, winning it all to reverse the San Diego curse and commemorate the anniversary of the '63 AFL champions. :D

[notorious]

Indy vs. Denver in Rd. 2

Denver wins and faces Brady in the AFC Championship.

Manning wins in the cold.

Seattle vs. Dallas in the NFC Championship

Seattle wins in a route

Manning wins 2nd SB in a game similar to his first. AIDS for everyone.

[KChiefs1]

Worst to First:

Boston Red Sox
Auburn Tigers
Kansas City Chiefs?

[Rain Man]

I put together a little informal formula that weights the following information:

playoff seeding and point differential, since good teams really do have a better chance of winning

total points scored + points yielded. Because the NFL wants high-scoring games, they favor teams with good offenses and bad defenses.

market size - I just used metro area as a proxy.

Value of lead marketing representative on the team - who's the best guy to represent the NFL brand as a "world champion", and who gives the marketers the best story?

Value of team marketing - What's the value of the team's story, beyond the most prominent individual. Are they a good marketing story?


I gave each potential team ratings in each area, then added them up and did a couple of other mathematical manipulations. I came up with the following likelihoods of winning the Super Bowl.

Broncos 26.8%
Patriots 11.2%
Seahawks 8.6%
Colts 6.1%
Panthers 5.6%
Bears 5.0%
49ers 4.7%
Eagles 4.7%
Cowboys 4.3%
Packers 4.1%
Bengals 3.7%
Saints 3.7%
Chiefs 3.5%
Ravens 1.9%
Dolphins 1.7%
Steelers 1.5%
Cardinals 1.5%
Chargers 1.3%

The Broncos are the safe bet to win it despite Denver's small market size, because they're a strong team with a good playoff seeding, their games produce a ton of points on both sides, and they've got the league's top marketing commodity in Peyton Manning.

I was surprised to see the Patriots ranked second, but you could spin a decent story out of that win.

The one that's intriguing is Carolina. They've got a strong team, but more importantly, the NFL seems to be embracing Cam Newton by putting him on commercials. That may mean that they're planning to promote him as the next generation of stars.

If I was a betting man who believed that the league colludes on picks, I would be looking at the Panthers and the Colts. They're both led by quarterbacks that the league is wanting to market heavily.

[Dayze]

any scenario to get Manning back into the show. They tried last year, but Baltimore fucked it all up.

[Rain Man]

Also, since I view the "Together We Make Football" scam to be the skull and bones flagship of the evil marketing conglomerate that the NFL has become, I also put together a little analysis to gauge the odds of each person winning. Here's my thinking, and recall that they pick five winners.

I should note that I mean no offense against any of the ten contestants. I'm just approaching this as a pure soul-dead marketer who doesn't care about people or football, which is how the NFL is going to handle it. (And yes, I know it's supposed to be a public vote at this point, but get real - it's a secret ballot and the NFL is not going to let the public decide who they're going to market.)

Having said all this, I suspect that the NFL will be "incredibly generous" and spontaneously select all 10 as winners, so they can pat themselves on the back and attempt to garner positive public relations out of the deal.

High probability of winning:


Heidi - It's obvious that Heidi's not a serious football fan, and I have a feeling that she not really a football fan at all. She became a football fan in 2013, apparently, and despite living in Hollywood her favorite team is the Patriots and her favorite player is Tom Brady. Wow - what a kick in the teeth to football fans everywhere. Her "story" is by far the most lame and contrived.

However, she has all the magical qualities that it will take to win. She's an attractive young woman who will play well on self-congratulatory NFL ads. Most importantly, there aren't any other attractive young woman in the contest. My entire model is based on the assumption that she wins. If that doesn't happen, all of my predictions probably blow up.

Odds of winning: 99%. She represents everything that the modern NFL is about.
Story ranking: 10 of 10. It's actually an insult to any football fan. An overt slap in the face.
Her biggest risk: Industrial accident that knocks her out of the attractive young woman category. She might as well start packing and trying to learn the names of some Patriots players.

Khordae - Young African American kid in New York, and he gets to mention Harlem? Does anyone doubt that he's going to win? The NFL gets to take a bow to the New York market, plus the opportunity to hint at minority stereotypes and how the NFL helps a kid overcomes the odds. His story is pretty lame, but the NFL doesn't care about that.

Odds of winning: 90%.
Story ranking: 7 of 10. There's nothing much to it.
His biggest risk: he's at the intersection of negative racial stereotypes and sick and the other kids, who are all sick or handicapped, so he has to fend off both groups.

Good likelihood of winning.


Tyler - We know they're going to pick one sick or handicapped kid, and Tyler is the most easily marketable. The other kid's story is pretty lame. Plus, Tyler is in Texas, which is a big football market.

Odds of winning: 85%.
Story ranking: 4 of 10. We've heard it a million times, but it's always good.
His biggest challenge: Either he or the other handicapped kid is going to win, so it's mano e mano between the two of them. There's a small chance that they won't pick either since Khordae probably already has a child slot locked up.

Reasonable shot at winning.


Chris - He overlaps with Khordae a lot, in that he's a minority who hints at negative racial stereotypes and overcomes them. That works against him. In his case, though, he's from Detroit, which is good because it's a big market and it counts as the midwest, which is otherwise not represented at all. Chris actually has the most interesting story and should win among the ten finalists if it was a fair contest. However, we know it's not a fair contest.

On an individual basis, he gets taken out by the next two women on the list. However, there won't be three female winners so one of those women has to get knocked out. I think Chris splits the defenders and sneaks through for the win. If so, he'll carry Julie in his wake to a win as well.

Odds of winning: 65%.
Story ranking: 1 of 10. He actually has a good story that's worthy of winning.
His biggest risk: There are four African American finalists, and no more than two will win. He's taking on a kid and two women in that category, which can be tough sledding when you're an obese guy.


Julie - She's a tricky one and is a big wild card. She's a woman and she's in a big East Coast market, but that's all she's got going for her. However, she's got a cutesie story that will play well among women and actively promotes the NFL. They also need another woman, and preferably a middle-aged one since women are not going to like Heidi. However, there's likely room for only one more woman, since three winners won't be women.

If she wins, I think she'll pull Chris along for the win as well.

Odds of winning: 50%.
Story ranking: 3 of 10. It's not really a football story, but it's NFL-oriented and cute.
Her biggest challenge: she has a lot of competition in the East Coast market segment, and her only other market differentiator is that she's a woman, which means that she has to compete against two minority women and an attractive young woman (and the attractive young woman has a guaranteed spot).

Charity - You may think that Charity is battling in the minority category, but I don't think she is. She lives in a two-parent family in a middle-class county, and that doesn't work for the NFL's blatant stereotyping.

I think she's competing head to head against Julie in the female category. Julie has a cute story, but Charity is more about getting women involved in football and has a better marketing slant for the NFL. She and Julie will duke it out for the female segment's slot. Her main problem is that she won't win with Chris - she needs to carry Gary along for the win, and I think he's an anchor. Plus, Julie seems a bit more marketable from a personality standpoint.

The minority segmentation here is weird. If the NFL actually realizes that it's good to not promote stereotypes of minorities and wants to show a positive minority story with no negative undertones, Charity could rocket to the top. But if they don't pick up on that angle, being a minority will hurt her given the amount of competition.

I think she's the odd woman out and the odd minority out. But if she wins, she'll knock both Chris and Julie out and then we have chaos.

Odds of winning: 50%.
Story ranking: 9 of 10. There's nothing interesting at all there to the public, but the NFL probably likes it.
Her biggest challenge: She has not one but two winning positions (positive racial stereotype and active women involved in football), but neither is an obvious "conk you on the head" position.



Low chance of winning:


Thalia - She's a minority single mother, and that's often a winning combination. However, she's in a secondary market (Atlanta) and is competing against two others who hint at racial stereotypes, so she's in a crowded field. She has the advantage of competing both in that category and in the female category, but I just don't think she's as compelling a marketing presence as those she's competing against in either category.

Her biggest weapon is that she represents the south, but that's only if the NFL marketing people don't believe that Texas represents the south. (Tyler will likely win and represent Texas.) But I doubt that the NFL marketing people know much about the country outside the eastern seaboard, so she's got a chance.

Odds of winning: 33%.
Story ranking: 5 of 10. Not great, but passable.
Her biggest challenge: Oddly, she fits too many marketing categories that the NFL seeks, but she's not the top choice at any. Her brand is diluted.

Gary - Gary is competing in the sympathy category. I feel bad about the terminal illness, obviously, but that's not enough to win when you're in a small market and don't satisfy other marketing goals. His only chance is if Charity knocks out both Julie and Chris, opening up a slot that a non-minority male would be well-positioned to fill.

Odds of winning: 20%.
Story Ranking: 6 of 10. It's really not about football at all.
His biggest challenge: he's competing against two sick/handicapped children and doesn't fit any other NFL marketing goals.


Thanks for Playing


Nate - Nate is competing in the sick/handicapped kid category and the general kid category. Yeah, good luck against the kid with one arm and the kid in Harlem. And you're from Arkansas? Do you know how many TV households live in Texas and New York, and you're in Arkansas?

Odds of winning: 6%.
Story ranking: 8 of 10. Not very compelling.
His biggest challenge: he has two arms and lives in a small market.

Lee - Good story here, but let's cut to the chase. You're old, male, and white. You're in a big east coast market and you've got probably the second-best story of the group, but that doesn't excuse the fact that you're old, male, and white. You're not the desired marketing face of the NFL.

His only hope is that his story actually has a real NFL connection. But it's a one in a million shot.

Odds of winning: 2%.
Story ranking: 2 of 10. It's actually a pretty good story, both in general and from an NFL marketing perspective.
His biggest challenge: old, male, and white. They're using up all of his marketing cachet just by making him a finalist.